Lake Station’s city hall quietly reopened Monday, ending a seven-month closure for repairs after a fire suppression sprinkler pipe ruptured in June, flooding offices and damaging equipment, ceiling tiles, walls and flooring. The city’s insurance company provided trailers on site in the city hall parking lot for workers, and computers had to be hooked up and functioning so they could work throughout the closure. Kim Frizzell, administrative assistant to Mayor Bill Carroll, opens the office door Wednesday to the newly repainted and carpeted office. (Carole Carlson/For the Post-Tribune) The final trailer left the parking lot this week. Mayor Bill Carroll said Wednesday he is planning an open house in the coming weeks so residents can see the repairs, new carpeting and painted walls. Carroll said curious residents are beginning to trickle in to obtain building permits or handle other business. One man was there Wednesday to pay a court fine. Clerk-treasurer Brenda Samuels said quite a few people have been in the building this week to get building licenses, pay bills or get dog tags. Lake Station Mayor Bill Carroll is pictured inside the city council chambers on Wednesday. (Carole Carlson/For the Post-Tribune) Carroll said the pipe in the sprinkler system ruptured even though it underwent regular inspections. When the pipe burst, numerous city officials received notifications on their phones, including Carroll who was at a festival at Riverview Park. He said they all hurried to city hall but the flooding had already damaged offices, including his own. Carroll is cautious about providing a timeline after numerous delays. “I don’t want to open this building unless it’s 110 percent ready,” said Carroll. “I don’t want more leaks anywhere ever again.” During the closure, the city council has been meeting in the community room at Edison Jr.-Sr. High School. Because of already published legal advertisements, the council will meet again at the high school at 7 p.m. on Feb. 12 when it’s expected to hold a public hearing on a proposed fire district partnership with New Chicago. Carroll said he hopes, but wouldn’t promise, that regular meetings will resume at city hall by the end of the month. Besides the city council, the plan commission also meets in the council chambers, as well as City Court, which also relocated to the high school. The council chambers didn’t suffer too much damage from the flood, but new carpeting has been installed along with a TV monitor to provide residents with detailed information at meetings. Carroll said the chamber is also being outfitted with a camera system designed to video meetings in compliance with a new state law. He said the meetings will appear on the city’s YouTube channel, similar to how other cities share their meetings. Carole Carlson is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune. ...read more read less